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PANORAMIC VIEW 01" THE M1NISINK LANDS AUOVE THE DELAWARE WATER GAP. 



JFrom $JtulalJrlpljta to ttic ^oronos 



A GUIDE TO 

The Delaware Valley 

TREXTOX, LAMBERTVILLE, EASTON, 

PHILLIPSBURG, BELVIDERE, 

PORTLAXD, 



AND THE 



Delaware Water Gap 






PREPARES i".Y 



» 
> ■ 






CHARLES F. JENKINS 

r ember Historical Society of Pennsylvatih 

Member Bucks County Historical Society. 



IJlnlaUrlpina : 
FERRIS & LEACH 

29-31 X. Seventh Street 
1 902 



THE LIBRARY OF 

CONGRESS, 
T>«o Copies Received 

JUL. 14 1902 

-Copyright entry 

CtASS i «~ XXo. No. 

COPY B 






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Copyright, 1902, by Charles F. Jenkiks. 



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jTvcnn :|3l)ilctbclpl)ici to tl)c poconos 



* 



HE trip from Philadelphia 
to Trenton is one so often 
taken and so familiar to 
travelers that but little 
space need be devoted to it. 
In taking the train at 
Broad Street Station, if it 
is to be a through one, try 
to obtain a seat on the left 
side of the car, and if a 
change of cars is made at 
Trenton, observe the same 
course there, for the left or 
river side is by far the more 
interesting. In the morn- 
ing this will be the shady 
side. 

After leaving Broad Street the train crosses the Schuyl- 
kill twice, and passes entirely across the northern end of 
the city. At Frankford Junction the Atlantic City branch 
leaves the main line, and on the right the high bridge over 
the Delaware may be seen. 

Frankford is a busy manufacturing suburb. 

At BEIDESBUEG, the next station, is located the 
United States Arsenal, the flag of which may be seen float- 
ing above the tree- towards the river. 




At HOLMESBURG JUNCTION a branch road runs to 
Holmesburg, and in four miles reaches Bustleton, the ter- 
minus. Just beyond Holmesburg Junction is the House of 
Correction, lying along the Delaware River and the Penny- 
pack Creek (Tenia Peca was the original Indian name), 
which we here cross. On the right of the road is the en- 
closed quarry, where the inmates of the House of Correc- 
tion labor, with guard houses on the fence, and on the left 
is a branch of the County Prison, with stone walls thirty- 
five feet high. 

At TOREESDALE, the next important station, the 
train crosses the Poquessing Creek and we are now in 
Bucks County, traversing a beautiful, park-like country, 
the soil of which is so rich and dee]) that nowhere in east- 
ern Pennsylvania are to be seen more beautiful oaks. Just 
before reaching 

CROYDON (Phila. 20 miles), we cross the Xeshaminy, 
here quite a broad tidewater stream. Three miles more 
and 

BRISTOL (Phila. 23 miles) is reached. Beyond this 
point we pass through the well-tilled fields and checker- 
board patches of a well-known seed farm. 

When TULLYTOYYN (Phila. 2: miles) is reached, the 
river has made a wide bend and is now some miles away. 
Directly opposite this point, however, and on the banks of 
the river, is where William Penn had his country seat, 
" Pennsbury." 

Just before reaching MORRISVILLE (Phila. 32 miles), 
named for Robert Morris, the great financier of the Revo- 
lution, our tracks are joined by those of the " Trenton Cut- 
Off/' which, crossing Bucks, Montgomery and Chester 



Counties, joins the Pennsylvania Main Line at Downing- 
town. On the right are the new tracks and a stone bridge 
which the railroad company is building to eliminate a sharp 
curve at this point. 

At the left, just before entering the bridge over the 
Delaware, a view is had of the city of Trenton, stretching 
along the river, and at the left of the picture is the New 
Jersey State Capitol building. In crossing the bridge note 
the sign which the railroad company has erected, marking 
the State line between Pennsylvania and New Jersey, in 
1he middle of the river. 

TBEXTON (Phila. 33 miles), originally called Trent's 
Town, has a population of 73,307, is the capital of the 
State, and county seat of Mercer County, so named after 
General Hugh Mercer, who fell at the Battle of Princeton, 
January 3d, 1777. The Battle of Trenton occurred De- 
cember 26th, 1776. The creek we see before 
reaching the station and again after leaving 
it, is the Assanpink, on the shores of which 
occurred a skirmish, dignified in local annals 
as the Battle of Assanpink, January 2d, 1777, 
between the British forces under Cornwallis 
and the American army under Washington. 

Trenton produces more crockery and pot- 
tery than all the rest of the United States. 
It has also extensive wire rope mills, iron, 
steel and zinc works, fire brick, terra-cotta 
and rubber goods factories. 

Soon after leaving the station at Trenton 
the train passes from the main line and 
enters the Belvidere Division of the Penn- 
sylvania Eailroad. After circling around 
the outskirts of Trenton, through 
numerous potteries and manufac- 
tories of various kinds, we cross, $£* , T * 
just before reaching Warren 



Street Station, the Delaware and Raritan Canal, which 
connects the Delaware with the Hudson waterways, 
and which before the days of railroads, was an important 
link, connecting Philadelphia and New York. The canal is 
still in use. At the right, at the head of Warren Street, a 
short distance from the railroad, is the monument erected 
to commemorate the Battle of Trenton. It stands on the 
spot where the battery of the American army was placed 
to command Warren Street and the street joining it at this 
point. The monument is surmounted by a statue of Wash- 
ington. 

The gilded dome of the State Capitol is visible through 
the side streets immediately after leaving the Warren 
Street Station. 

On the outskirts of the city is Cadwalader Park, with a 
station of that name and a pretty suburb close by. The 
train now runs along the bank of a canal which was origi- 
nally made as a feeder and still supplies the water for the 
Delaware and Raritan canal, referred to above. We fol- 
low its banks, mostly between it and the river, for twenty 
miles or more. 

ASYLUM (Phila. 3T miles). Four miles out of Trenton, 
on the right, is one of the two State Insane Asylums of 
New Jersey. The farm houses and farm lands are along 
the banks of the canal, while the buildings proper show 
above the trees in the distance. In this institution Doro- 
thea Lynde Dix, the well-known philanthropist, who suc- 
ceeded in accomplishing much to ameliorate the conditions 
of paupers, insane and prisoners, occupied rooms during the 
latter portion of her life, and here she died, July 19th. 
1887. The station is on the left. Just beyond Asylum 
Station the train passes under the tracks of the Bound 
Brook Division of the Reading Railroad, which here crosses 
the Delaware on a high, modern, iron bridge, and shortly 
alter leaving 

: 



WILBU'ETHA (Phila. 39 miles) the tracks approach the 
side of the river, and do not again run far from its bank. 
Following the railroad tracks, now on one side, now on 
the other, and sharing with it and the canal the narrow 
flow of the valley is the river wagon road. 

The Delaware Eiver was discovered by Henry Hudson, 
who entered Delaware Bay in 1609, before he sailed up the 
river which now bears his name. The bay and river have 
been known by different names. The Indians called it 
Poutaxat, Mariskitton, Makerish-Kisken and Lenape-Wi- 
hittock. The Dutch, Zuydt or South Eiver, Nassau Eiver, 
Prince Hendrick or Charles Eiver. The Swedes, who fol- 
lowed the Dutch to its shores, named it New Swedeland 
Stream, and the English called it Delaware. It is one of 
the finest and most beautiful rivers of the Atlantic Slope. 
It is formed by two branches, rising in New York State, on 
the western slope of the ( 'at skill .Mountains, and its total 
length is about 312 miles. 

A little more than a mile beyond we pass the flag station 
of 

SCUDDEB'S FALLS (Phila. 41 miles), so named from 
an important New Jersey family whose plantation, still in 
their possession, is near by. 

The " Falls of the Delaware " at Trenton was a noted 
geographical point, marking, as they did, the limit of navi- 
gation up the river for the early settlers. For many years 
the trip to New England and New York was by the river 
to this point and then overland. The Falls of the Dela- 
ware, or Trenton Falls, are merely swift rapids some miles 
above the present city of Trenton. It is said that tourists 
h&ve frequently come to Trenton, N. J., and viewed these 
rapids, not without disappointment, supposing they were 
the famous Trenton Falls in New York State. 

There Avas always considerable traffic over the waters of 
the Upper Delaware, carried on by Durham boats, prob- 



ably so named from the fact that they carried iron ore to 
Philadelphia from the Durham furnace. They were pro- 
vided with a mast and sail for sailing with the wind, but 
were returned up stream by pushing them with long 
poles shod with iron — a laborious and difficult undertak- 
ing. There were also other boats, called arks, which were 
made strong enough to be floated down stream, when they 
would be broken up at Philadelphia and the lumber sold. 
The first ark was built at Mauch Chunk, in 1806, and came 
down the Lehigh, and then the Delaware, loaded with 
three hundred bushels of coal. 

A mile farther and another little station, 

SOMEKSET (Phila. 42 miles), is reached, with the rail- 
road occupying a narrow strip between the canal and the 
silvery river. 

While ordinarily placid enough, there are usually one or 
more floods during the winter or spring, when the Dela- 




FRESHET OF DECEMBER l6, I9OI ( LAMBERTVILLE BRIDGE). 

ware overflows its banks. Of the notable freshets, those in 
18(32, 1811, 1(31 and 1692 are particularly remembered. 
In 1841, the highest record, all the bridges from Easton to 
Trenton, then five in number, were swept away; and houses 



barns, fences and orchards were destroyed. The flood of 
December, 1901, was the most severe of recent years. 
The illustration shows the river as it was during this 
freshet. The water is within nine inches of the bottom of 
the bridge. On the usual spring floods the rafts, boats and 
arks would pass over the various ledges and rifts in com- 
parative safety. 

As early as 1746 lumber was carried down the river in 
rafts. In that year a raft manned by two men, named 
Skinner and Parks, reached Philadelphia, where for their 
exploit they were given the " freedom of the city/' and 
Skinner was called " Lord-High-Admiral-of-the-Delaware," , 
which title he bore afterwards. Some rafts still come 
down the river each year in the spring freshets, and at the 
saw mills along the river may still be seen rafts tied to the 
shore awaiting consumption. 

WASHINGTON'S CROSSING (Phila. 43 miles), now 
connected with Taylorsville, on the Pennsylvania shore, by 
a long wooden bridge. 

Washington had retreated to the Pennsylvania side of 
the river on December 8th, 117 6. Every boat and all the 
available boards and scantling; in fact, everything that 
would have served to make rafts, had been carefully re- 
moved to the west bank of the river. About 11 o'clock the 
same morning the British came marching down to the river 
bank at Trenton, expecting to follow, but soon found there 
was no way to cross. Searching parties up and down the 
river could find no boats. The British finally settled down 
in comfortable quarters at Trenton to wait until the river 
was frozen over. Here they enjoyed a pleasant Christmas 
day, 17 76. but that night Washington, having collected his 
boats at Knowles" ( ove. crossed the >wollen river amid the 
floating ice with 2,400 troops, besides horses and twenty 
pieces of artillery. The night was dark and a snow storm 
had set in. The crossing began at sunset and it was three 

11 




■ 



-^LecFir.- 1 Jb*a 



in the morning before they were all over. Marching to 
Trenton over the frozen roads he fell upon the Hessians 
encamped there, and killed or captured the whole detach- 
ment. The result of the expedition was 1,040 prisoners, 
23 officers, 1,000 stand of arms and several cannon. The 
successful army recrossed the river with its prisoners in 
safety. By many historians this victory, coming as it did 
at almost the darkest hour in the American Revolution, 
is regarded as the turning point in the war. The Bucks 
County, Pennsylvania, and the Mercer County, ISTew Jer- 
sey, Historical Societies have erected granite stones to 
commemorate the event, and they mark the points of cross- 
ing. The ISTew Jersey one stands above the canal, on the 
right hand side, a few feet beyond the station. The Penn- 
sylvania stone is shown in the illustration. Last summer 

12 




the writer overheard an 
intelligent woman say 
she " didn't see why 
Washington wanted to 
cross in the boats amid 
the floating ice, when 
there was such a good 
bridge he might have 
walked over." 

A hundred yards be- 
yond the station, on the 
bank above the canal, is an old hipped-roof frame house, 
which is said to have been Washington's headquarters at 
the time of the crossing. 

Shortly after passing 

TITUSVILLE (Phila. 44 miles), the next station, over 
to the left, on the Bucks County side, back some distance 
from the river, Jericho Mountain is seen, while nearer the 
water's side is a conical-shaped elevation called Bowman's 
Hill. It is named after a Dr. Bowman, who came to Bucks 
County two hundred years ago. He is said to have been a 




BRIDGE AT WASHINGTON S CROSSING. 



pirate, one of Captain Kidd's men, and to have kept a mas- 
sive oaken chest filled with gold. At his own request he 
was buried on top of the hill. There is a story that if one 
should lie down by Bowman's grave and say in a low voice, 
"Bowman, what are you doing down there?" he answers, 
" Nothing/' The ridge of hills, of which Bowman's is part, 
extends across into New Jersey. 
After passing 

MOOBE (Phila. 46 miles), an unimportant station, with 
an extensive stone quarry, Solebury Mountain, another 
range of the hills, shows itself up the river, on the Bucks 
County side, its wooded side sloping sharply down to the 
water. 

Just beyond the station, on the right, high up on the 
bluff overlooking the river, is the Mercer County work 
house. About a mile beyond Bowman's Hill, just below the 
paper mill with its big wheel, close to the Pennsylvania 
side, is, or rather was, Malta Island, which, in Revolution- 
ary times, was densely wooded. The back channel has now 
filled up, and it is no longer an island except in time of 
flood. It was behind this island the boats, collected from 
far up the river, were hidden at the time just before Wash- 
ington crossed the river to attack the Hessians at Tren- 
ton. While hidden here some of the boats were carried 
away by the ice and floated down the river. 

The train is now passing a formidable series of rapids, 
which, from earliest times, have been a menace to the 
raftsmen and boatmen. The river here has a fall of twelve 
feet. The illustration shows the river at this point during 
a dry summer, when the water was very low. 

There are two clams just above what is called Welles' 
Falls. The one on the Pennsylvania side was formerly used 
to raise water into the Pennsylvania Canal; that on the 
New Jersey side to deepen the channel for the rope ferry, 
which we soon pass on the southern outskirts of Lambert- 

15 



ville. Here canal boats were transferred back and forth 
across the river. The lock opening into the river will be 
noticed, and also that on the Pennsylvania side. 
Our train soon enters 

LAMBEETYILLE (Phila. 50 miles), connected with 
New Hope by another of the long wooden bridges that 
add interest to the ride along the river. Here the " Old 
York" Road, from Philadelphia to New York, formerly 
crossed the river by an ancient ferry, known in Revolution- 
ary times as CoryelPs Ferry. During the Revolution Cory- 
ell's Ferry was an important strategic point. Washing- 
ton's army crossed here when he was marching to the de- 
fense of Philadelphia during the summer of 1777, and 
again, when Howe evacuated Philadelphia and started 
across New Jersey, Washington's army marched from their 
winter quarters at Valley Forge and crossed at Coryell's 
Ferry, June 22d, 1778. The house in which he made his 
headquarters stands back from the railroad on the right, 
and can be seen after passing the electric light building 

on the northern out- 
skirts of the town. It 
is a stone house, al- 
most hidden in a 
bower of trees, with its 
gable end turned to- 
wards the railroad. 

Lambertville is a 
busy and flourishing 
manufacturing town, 
crowded into a narrow 
strip of land along the 
river. It is the head- 
quarters of the Bel- 
videre Division of the railroad and important repair 
shops are located here. Just beyond the town a branch 

16 











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MOUNT GILBOA. 



road runs oft' to Fleming-ton, the county seat of this, 
Hunterdon County, and the center of a great peach- 
growing industry, for which the red soil, which is now no- 
ticeable in the color of the soil and roads, is particularly 
adapted. This red sandstone belt extends across New Jer- 
sey from Tomkins Cove, N". Y., and southwest through 
Pennsylvania to Reading, Pa., then on nearly west to the 
Susquehanna, below Harrisburg, when it turns southwest 
and leaves the State. On the outskirts of Lambertville the 
Alexsocken Creek flows under both the canal and the 
railroad. A mile beyond the town the hills approach the 
river and the train glides around the end of what is known 

as Mt. Ciilboa. It will be recognized from the illustration. 

• 

17 



In the river opposite 

STOCKTON (Pliila. 53 miles), a sleepy riverside village, 
is a big island, known as Hendrick's Island, which is regu- 
larly farmed and inhabited. At Prallsville, about a mile 
above Stockton, are extensive sandstone quarries, on the 
right. Here the Wickecheoke Creek enters the Delaware. 
Soon the railroad crosses the canal. On the Pennsylvania 
side the wooded hills now rise to a considerable height, 
and at Lumberton, distinguished by the great stone quar- 
ries, the beautiful Cutalossa Creek flows into the Delaware. 

BAVEN ROCK (Pliila. 56 miles), on the left, between 
the canal feeder and the river, is Bull's Island, now a picnic 
ground belonging to the railroad. In ancient times a prof- 
itable shad fishery was located here. At the opposite end 
of the bridge which here spans the river is Lumberville. 
The road leading up the hillside at the station used to be 
called Democrat Hill; but a more enterprising man came 
along, and, by running it from right to left, made an easier 
rise, which was called in distinction Federal Twist. 

Just beyond the station, on the right, are the rocky 
crags once inhabited by ravens, which give the name to 
the place, while on the left is the point where the waters 
of the Delaware enter the canal. The river here is just 
sixty-nine feet above tide level. The water which enters the 
canal here feeds the Delaware and Earitan Canal at Tren- 
ton and flows on across New Jersey to Earitan Bay and on 
into the Atlantic. Beyond this point we are no longer ac- 
companied by the picturesque canal; but across, on the 
Pennsylvania bank of the river, we still have glimpses, 
here and there, of passing canal boats. This is the Dela- 
ware Canal, extending from Bristol to Easton, and con- 
necting the Lehigh coal regions with Philadelphia. The 
traffic over it, while inconsiderable as compared with that 
of years ago, is still of some importance. 

18 




POINT PLEASANT BRIDGE. 



At BYIiAM (Phila. 58 miles), the next station, is one of 
the great quarries, of which we have passed several, while 
on the Pennsylvania side is Point Pleasant, a healthful 
village, high up on the hills. From the hills back of Point 
Pleasant, is presented an extended and beautiful view of 
the river. Here the Tohickon Creek, a considerable 
stream, which drains the upper portion of Bucks County, 
enters the river. The modern iron bridge which crosses 
the river looks out of keeping and not as pleasant to 
the eye as the long, weather-stained timber ones we have 
been passing. 

TUMBLE FALLS (Phila. 60 miles) is the next station. 
Those who may have been expecting a fall in the river 
will be disappointed, for, beyond a drop over three suc- 
cessive ledges of rocks, there is nothing to be seen. Just 
this side of the station is a big island called Solliday's Isl- 
and, while overhanging the railroad is a cliff towering four 
hundred feet high, known as Warford's Bocks. We are 
now passing a portion of the river which in the early days 
was famous for its shad fisheries. Farmers used to drive 

19 




SHAD FISHING ON THE UPPER DELAWARE. 



from their homes far hack from the river for their supply 
of shad, which in many homes were salted dowm for winter 
use. In 1810 as many as 1,200 to 1,500 shad were caught 
in a day at one little fishery on the Pennsylvania side, near 
this point, and 60,000 shad in a season was not an unusual 
catch at some of these up-river fisheries. By 1825 there 
was an appreciable falling off in the number caught, and 
by 1841 still further shrinkage in the catches. Later most 
of these fisheries were abandoned, but some are still 
profitable enough to work. The picture shows a moderate 
haul at one of these modern fisheries. At one time the 
herring fisheries were also important, but herring fishing 
has now entirely disappeared. 

20 




BEYOND TUMBLE FALLS. 



KINGWOOD (Phila. 6.2 miles) is a little box of a station. 
We are now opposite a considerable group of islands, all 
of them large enough to possess a name. They are so 
close to each other and so cut up by minor channels that 
it is difficult to tell where one ends and the other begins. 
The last one, that is, the northernmost one, is quite fam- 
ous historically. Its ancient name was Tincony Island, but 
later it was called Marshall's Island, from Edward Mar- 
shall, who lived here, and died here November Tth, 1789. 
The island can be distinguished by the fact that it has a 
house and barn upon it, and a large portion of it is culti- 
vated. The dwelling house stands about eighteen feet 
above the water. The extreme length of the island is one 
and a quarter miles, and its width one-quarter of a mile. 
It contains 116 acres. 

By treaty between the Indians and William Penn's sons, 
the latter were to have as much land as lay between a line, 

21 



to the extremity of which a man could " travel " in a day 
and a half, and the Delaware Biver. Edward Marshall. 
with two other walkers, were selected to make the " walk/' 
but he alone survived the pace, and at the end of the day 
and a half he had covered about seventy miles. The In- 
dians claimed that the walk was unfair, and took an espe- 
cial antipathy to Marshall, so that his life on the island. 

which he received for his 
reward, was anything 
but happy. His first 
wife was killed by the 
Indians, and he con- 
si sintly carried his rifle 
with him while at work. 
There is one story told 
of the Indians coming 
on him unawares while 
he was chopping wood. 
He engaged them in con- 
versation. By boasting 
that he was stronger 
than they he induced 
them to try to pull apart the log he was splitting. 
When they had inserted their fingers he suddenly 
pulled out his axe that was holding the sjDlit apart, 
when, of course, the log closed and entrapped the 
Indians' hands. He then proceeded to dispatch them one 
by one. Marshall's rifle is still preserved by his descend- 
ants, who live near by. With it he is said to have killed 
1,300 deer, besides other animals, and uncounted Indians. 

FKENCHTOWN (Phila. 65 miles) is a pretty little New 
Jersey town, with the ever-present toll-bridge connecting 
it with Uhlertown on the Pennsylvania side. Just before 
we reach the station the Nichisakawick Creek flows into 
the Delaware. Frenchtown was so named from the fact 

22 




1' RE YOST MANSION. 




RIVER VIEW ABOVE MILFORD. 



that it was settled by M. Prevost, a French Huguenot, 
whose house is still standing across the road, almost imme- 
diately opposite the station. There was a ferry at this 
point long before the bridge was built. Burgoyne's army, 
marching south from Saratoga as prisoners of war, was 
ferried over the river at this point. 

We are again reminded that we are in the region of 
Indian names, for in about two miles we cross the Hari- 
hokake Creek, and two miles farther we cross the Haki- 
kokake Creek, which enters the Delaware just before we 
reach 

MILFOKD (Phi la. 69 miles). After passing the station, 
the New Jersey bank of the river towers above the rail- 
road, crowding it and the country road almost into the 
water. On the Bucks County side the hills rise to a height 
of 500 feet, and we approach, shortly after passing 

HOLLAND (Phila. 72 miles), a steep and craggy pal- 
isade, called the Narrows, and also the Nockamixon Kocks, 
where the river has forced its way, leaving but little room 
for the canal and wagon road at its base. This is by all 
odds the finest bit of nature between Trenton and Easton, 
with its almost perpendicular walls of stratified rock, its 
scanty verdure and its cap of fields and forests. While 
there is but little soil in the crevices of the rocks, these 
ledges are particularly rich in their flora, and have long 
been visited by botanists in search of rare specimens. It 
is said that here can be found several northern plants not 
to be found elsewhere in the country south of New Bruns- 
wick. The rare Sedum Ehodiola, clinging here to the 
naked rock, is said to inhabit but one other spot in the 
"United States. Here are also the Canada Water Leaf, 
Canada Yiolet, Ginseng, Purple Trillium and other rare 
specimens. The view from the summit of these crags is 

24 




THE NARROWS. 




PANORAMIC VI KW OF THE DELAWARE 



particularly fine, extending far up and down the winding 
river and across over the New Jersey farms and wood- 
lands. 

The train here, owing to the course of the river, is now 
running southwest, and the sun, which may have been 
shining steadily in the windows on the right, will come 
peeping in at the left, and for a very short distance the 
train is heading almost directly toward Philadelphia. 

About two miles beyond Holland, if the traveler is 
watchful, he may see curling above the trees on the Penn- 
sylvania bank of the river, here some distance away, the 
yellow smoke of the Durham Iron Works. For one brief 
moment the furnace itself may be seen. It is situated 
at the mouth of the Durham Creek, and is one of the ear- 

26 




VALLEY, TAKEN FROM THE SUMMIT OF THE NARROWS. 



liest erected in the United States, the first blast having 
been begun in 1728. The furnace and iron works were 
busily engaged during the Revolution in casting shot and 
shell, which were shipped to Philadelphia by boat. Here 
also was made the great chain which was stretched across 
the Hudson River at "West Point to prevent the British 
fleet sailing up the river. Each link weighed 250 pounds, 
and it w r as a matter of no small moment to transport it 
across New Jersey and put it in place. In 1848 these works 
passed into the control of Messrs. Cooper & Hewitt, of 
New York. 

The train now swings around the base of Mt. Joy, an 
offset of the great Musconetcong Mountain, and at its 

27 




CANAL LOCK IN TIIK NARROWS. 



north base, flowing into the Delaware, a few hundred feet 
before we reach 

EIEGELSVILLE (Phila. 75 miles), is the Mucon- 
etcong River, the outlet for the famous Lake Hopatcong, 
now a well-known New Jersey summer resort. The river 
is also the dividing line betw r een Hunterdon and Warren 
Counties, the latter of which we now enter. The Mus- 
eonetcong Mountain extends over into Pennsylvania, and 
disappears into the surrounding level some five miles away. 
On the north side of the mountain, some distance from 
the river, is a cave, known as the Tory Den. The tradition 
is that a detachment of marauding Tories were pursued 
by a party of Continentals as far as the river, where they 
eluded pursuit. They then passed a short distance up the 
Musconetcong Valley, ascended the mountain and con- 

28 




GOING THROUGH THE LOCK. 



cealed themselves in this rocky retreat, where they re- 
mained all winter, being secretly fed by some neighboring 
Tories. 

The town of Eiegelsville is on the opposite of the river. 
At the station are important paper mills. 

We are now approaching the foot hills of the Blue Moun- 
tains, and the scenery grows rapidly in beauty and gran- 
deur. Two miles beyond Eiegelsville we pass through a 
fine gap which the river has made through the Pohatcong 
Mountain on the Xew Jersey side, and Bougher Hill on the 
Pennsylvania, and the train turns sharply east, following 
the base of the mountain for some distance, then north- 
wardly, crossing shortly the Pohatcoug River or Creek. 
Here the mountain, one of the greatest in Xew Jersey, has 
degenerated into a ridge of low hills, rarely exceeding 700 
feet, which increase in height after passing the Delaware. 

29 



CARPENTERVILLE (Phila. 79 miles) is now reached. 
Soon the train swings around the base of another moun- 
tain. We are now in the midst of what on the Pennsyl- 
vania side are called the Durham Hills, and in two miles 
more we swing around to the right through another gap. 
and, following along the base of this mountain, or hill. 
the steeples of Easton and Phillipsburg soon appear on the 
left, beyond a beautiful vista up the river. 

Between the tracks and the river are the narrow, rusty 
rails of a dump railroad from a once famous, but now aban- 
doned iron furnace at Phillip-lung, which has had to carry 
its waste slag a long distance in order to dispose of it in 
the narrow valley. 

On the right we soon come to a canal, the western ter- 
minus of the old Morris, which, in connection with the Le- 
high Canal at Easton, was once a famous waterway. for coal. 
The hasin is now nearly filled with decayed and sunken 
canal boats, relics of the pasi : but there are also here yards 
where canal boats are made and repaired. The stables for 
the horses and mules are now nearly empty. The drum by 
which, and the inclined plane through which, the canal 
boats were dragged up from the bed of the river to the 
level of the canal are still to be seen. Immediately after 
we reach the network of high bridges at 

LEHIGH JUNCTION (Phila. 81.1 miles). Here the 
Lehigh Valley and Central Railroad of New Jersey cross 
the river and our railroad, and, a few hundred yards be- 
vond, the train rolls into 

PHILLIPSBURG and EASTON (Phila. 84.4 miles). 
Easton is beautifully situated on the Pennsylvania side at 
the "Forks of the Delaware/' as the junction of the Le- 
high with the Delaware was anciently called. The Lehigh 
will be noticed, flowing over a dam, which was built to turn 

30 




WEYGADT GAP. 



the water into the Delaware Canal, which starts at this 
point. 

Phillipsburg, a town of 10,052 people, is an important 
industrial center. It occupies the site of an ancient Indian 
town, and is said to have been named after Philip, an In- 
dian chief, a friend of the last great chief of the Lenapes, 
Teedyuscong. The town itself was settled at an earlier 
date than Easton. 

Easton is the county seat of Northampton County, which 
was laid off from Bucks County in IT. 52. At that time it 
included territory now divided into Lehigh, Carbon. 
Schuylkill, Monroe. Pike and all the other counties north 
of them to the New York line. 

Easton itself was laid out about 1737 and incorporated 
1789. It was a favorite place for holding treaties with the 
Indians. It is the seat of Lafayette College, founded 1826, 
and named in honor of Lafayette, who was visiting this 
country in that year. The buildings will be seen on the 
heights north of the town, shortly after the train passes 
the station. Still further beyond, on the continuation of 
the hill on which are the college buildings, the Paxinosa 
Inn will be noticed, perched upon the top, elevation 700 
feet, and enjoying a beautiful prospect up and down the 
river. This portion of the hill is called Chestnut Hill, and 
also Weygadt Mountain. The beautiful gap which we soon 
pass through, rivaling in beauty, but not in grandeur, the 
Water Gap itself, is called Weygadt Gap. 

HAKMOXY (Phila. 89 miles) is an unimportant flag sta- 
tion, reached after a delightful five miles of ride close to 
the river. The general range of hills through which we 
have been passing, some of which are designated as moun- 
tains, extend southwestwardly across Xew York. Xew Jer- 
sey and Pennsylvania. They occupy an area of over 800 
square miles. In Xew York and Xew Jersey they are 

31 



called the Highlands, and the Durham and Reading Hills 
on the Pennsylvania side of the river. 

MARTIN'S CREEK (Phila. 91 miles), so named from a 
creek that drains a portion of Northampton County on the 
Pennsylvania side. Here the Bangor and Portland Railroad 
has a connection, and, until familiar with the facts, one is 
apt to imagine himself in the State of Maine when the 
brakeman calls out, " Martin's Creek; change for Bangor/' 
and a little later we reach Portland. Bangor is the center of 
the slate industry of Northampton County. Here, on the 
Pennsylvania side, are extensive cement factories, the 
smoke from which may be seen curling up above the tree 
tops. 

HUTCHINSON'S (Phila. 93 miles) and ROXBURG 
(Phila. 94 miles) are mere roadside stations. Away off to 
the right Scott's Moutain follows the railroad with its ir- 
regular but continuous outline culminating some four 
miles away from the railroad in a peak called 
Mt. No More, which attains an elevation of 1,120 
feet. Between this and the next station, towering up close 
to the track between the train and the river, is Chimney 
Rock, surmounted by a good-sized red cedar tree. 

FOUL RIFT (Phila. 96 miles). Here the river has a 
considerable fall. Although in many places the current 
seems to have been running strongly, yet the average fall 
in the river from Frenchtown to Trenton is only three 
feet two inches per mile. In the 18| miles from Manunka 
Chunk to Easton it falls 93 feet, twelve feet of which are 
at Foul Rift, where for half a mile the river plunges down 
over a limestone rift. The remaining fall to Easton is uni- 
formly distributed, averaging 4^ feet per mile. This has 
always been the most shallow, rapid and dangerous falls in 
the river, and the lumber raftsmen would breathe a sigh of 
relief when they had passed through. At one time consid- 

32 




DISTANT VIEW OF THE WATER GAP. 



erable money was spent to improve the channel by blast- 
ing. 

BELVIDERE (Phila. 98 miles) gave the name to the 
Belvidere and Delaware Railroad, which, on being leased 
to the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1872, became the Belvi- 
dere Division, lies at the point where the Pequest River 
or Creek reaches the Delaware. It is a pretty little town of 
1,784 population, and is interesting from the fact that it 
marks the southern limit of the great ice cap, which in the 
ice age covered the northern part of North America. Here 
the great moraine of the ice cap has deposited in the valley 
great masses of gravel, which extend all across Xew Jersey 
to Perth Amboy. The railroad now cuts across a great 
bend in the river and suddenly bursts out on the river 
hank, high up above it, giving one a pleasant surprise and 
a most beautiful view. In the distance, away up the river, 
is the Water Gap, with its giant sentinels of the valley, 
while winding below, around wooded islands and through 
fertile fields, is the glistening river. 

A short incursion inland, a hurried return to the side 
of the river, and in a few minutes 



33 



MANUNKA CHUNK (Phila. 100 miles), the junction 
station with the Lackawanna Railroad, is reached. The 
latter railroad finds its way to the river side through a tun- 
nel under the mountain. Here, if our train is not a 
through one for the Poconos, we change cars. The ride 
over the Lackawanna Eailroad to New York vies in inter- 
est with the trip we have just made from Philadelphia. 
We are now considerably nearer Xew York city than we 
are to Philadelphia, the distance to Hobo-ken, opposite Xew 
York, being 78 miles. 

The probable wait at Manunka Chunk will give us a 
moment to refer to the Indians who lived in the Delaware 
Valley; they were the Lena pes, or Delawares, a branch of 
the great Algcnkin family. These were the Indians with 
whom William Penn made the famous treaty under the 
elm at Philadelphia. Of the character of these Indians the 
general impression is highly creditable to them. They 
were intelligent, generous and hospitable, faithful to their 
engagements, and until corrupted by whiskey and embit- 
tered by the gross knavery of the whites, particularly in 
the Indian Walk, which has already been mentioned, they 
were the firm friends of the whites. The particular branch 
of the Lenapes living around the Water Gap and in New 
Jersey were the Minsis, Munsees or Minnisinks. It was 
this tribe that was particularly outraged by the taking of 
their beloved Minnisink lands by the Indian Walk, and it 
needed but little urging on the part of a branch of the 
Delawares that had previously moved west to Ohio to per- 
suade them to join the French against the English in the 
French and Indian war of 1755. Their fury descended on 
those who had occupied the disputed lands, and soon all 
this region above Easton was desolated, and the scattered 
families of the settlers were fleeing to Easton, Bethlehem, 
and the various outlying blockhouses, for safety. One body 
of the hostile Indians was under command of the famous 

34 



chief Teedyuscong, who was born on the Poeono Moun- 
tains, and who was perhaps the last of the famous Dela- 
ware chiefs. In 1756 a famous Indian council was held 
at Easton, and Teedyuscong agreed to terminate hos- 
tilities. 

After this date the Delawares rapidly emigrated to Ohio. 
During the Revolution they took the side of the colonies. 
From Ohio they again moved to Kansas, and also to 
Canada, Louisiana and Texas. A few still remain in the 
Indian Territory. Not all, however, joined in their emi- 
gration, and there are to-day in the neighborhood of Phila- 
delphia some ten or fifteen families who still pride them- 
selves on their Lenape blood. 

Beyond Manunka Chunk the road skirts the side of the 
valley well up on the mountain side. Looking backward, 
the mouth of the tunnel is visible, while the view up the 
river reaches to the Water Gap. 

DELAWARE (Phila. 102 miles) is a riverside village 
Here a little branch of the Xew York, Susquehanna and 
Western Railroad runs off to Blairstown. the home of the 
well-known Blair family. A short distance beyond Dela- 
ware the tracks cross the river, and we are again in Penn- 
sylvania. Robeson's Rift is just below the bridge where 
the railroad crosses the river above Delaware. It derives 
its names from the following story: In IT T 7 the settlers 
were driven across to the Xew Jersey side of the river by 
marauding bands of Indians, but the appearance of danger 
having vanished, one of the old settlers, named Robeson, 
sent his son Elam Robeson and a hired man across to plow 
and sow the fields. They worked a while witli their rifles 
tied to the plows, but, becoming tired of this and careless, 
they left their weapons at one side of the field, where, 
when they were on the opposite side, the Indians seized 
them and attempted to capture the boys. The hired man 

35 



















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plunged into the stream and swam over to safety, but 
Elam Robeson ran toward the rift and was shot and killed 
when half way over. From that time to this the gravel 
bar has been called Robeson's Rift. 
In a mile and a half the town of 

PORTLAND (Phila. 106 miles) is readied. This little 
place was formerly called Dill's Ferry, when connection was 
had with Columbia, on the opposite side of the river, before 
the bridge, 796 feet long and costing $40,000, was built. 
Here are connections with the Bangor and Portland Road. 
which we met some time ago at Martin's Creek. Just above 
Portland the high bridge of the Lehigh and New England 
Railroal is over us. This was a link in the " Poughkeep- 
sie Bridge Route " to New England. After leaving Port- 
land we rapidly approach the Delaware Water Gap. 

The Kittatiny Mountain, through which the river bursts, 
forming the water gap, is variously named. It has some- 
times been called the Blue Mountain, on account of its 
bluish tinge; and also the North Mountain, for it is the 
north boundary of the great Appalachian Valley, which 
runs through from the St. Lawrence by Lake Champlain 
and the Hudson River, thence across Northern New Jersey 
for forty miles, its width varying from ten to thirteen 
miles; then on through Pennsylvania by Bethlehem and 
Harrisburg, forming the Cumberland Valley of Southern 
Pennsylvania, and becoming finally the Valley of the Tenn- 
essee. 

Kittatiny is an Indian name, meaning Endless Hills. It 
is known as the Shawangunk Mountain in New York. A 
feature of the range is the remarkable series of picturesque 
gaps through it — the Delaware, the Wind Gap, the Lehigh, 
the Schuylkill, the Swatara and Susquehanna Gaps, at dis- 
tances of twenty-two to twenty-eight miles apart. 

The portion of the Kittatiny forming the east pillar of 
the Water Gap is called Mount Tammany, named from a 



venerated chief of the Lenape Indians, after whom the 
various Tammany societies formed before and after the 
Revolution were named, and of which societies that now 
meeting in Tammany Hall, in Xew York, formed ITS!), is 
the best known. The elevation of Mount Tammany i> 
1,486 feet, and one mile back it rises to 1,630 feet. The 
corresponding mountain on the Pennsylvania side is Mount 
Minsi, so called from a branch of the Lenapes who lived in 
this section. Mt. Minsi is 1,480 feet high. 

The width of the Gap is 1,500 yards at the top and 300 
yards at the river's edge. 

We are now swinging around the base of Mt. Minsi, 
where barely sufficient room is found for the railroad 
tracks. The mountains tower above us, and the traveler 
cannot but be impressed with this gigantic work of nature. 
Whether this immense chasm has been formed by erosion 
or by some mighty upheaval scientists are not fully agreed. 

Looking up the river, as the train at one place bears to 
the left, the Kittatiny House is noticed, perched on the 
side of the Hill, while above it is the Water Gap House. 
Opposite us, on the New Jersey side, is Blockhead Moun- 
tain, a smaller hill, so named because it always obtrudes 
itself in the view of the Gap from the north. Soon the 
station is reached. 

DELAWARE WATER GAP (Phila. 110 miles). This 
famous place has been a summer resort, ever growing in 
popularity, since 1820. Among the first visitors were 
Horace Binney and Caleb Cope, honored names in Phila- 
delphia history. Quite a village has sprung up, with numer- 
ous hotels and boarding houses. All about are beautiful 
roads and paths through the woods, by dashing streams 
and pretty falls. The attractions of the place are widely 
known and highly appreciated. 

The land above the Gap on both sides of the river is 
historically known as the Minisink, and it is generally ad- 

39 



mitted that European settlers came here from the Dutch 
in New York before Perm had reached the Delaware at 
Philadelphia. 

After leaving Water Gap station the railroad crosses the 
little Cherry Creek, which comes down from the beautiful 
Cherry Valley, and, turning abruptly westward, it follows 
along the clear and dashing Analomink River, or Brod- 
head's Creek. Passing the mills of the Delaware Water 
Gap Pulp and Paper Company on the right, we cross the 
Analomink and soon pass under the tracks of the Xew 
York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad, which have 
been in sight for some time. We are now in Monroe 
County, the southern county line of which follows the level 
summit of the Kittatiny Mountain. Monroe County was 
formed in 1835 out of Northampton and Pike Counties, 
and named in honor of President Monroe. 

In four miles we roll into the station of Stroudsburg. 
The portion of the town surrounding the station is East 
Stroudsburg, a separate borough and post-office from 
Stroudsburg proper, which lies a half mile away on the 
other side of the Analomink. 

STROl'DSBURG (Phila. 114 miles) is the county town, 
a pleasant and quiet place, tilled with city visitors during 
the summer season. On the outskirts, situated on hills 
giving extended views of the surrounding country, and in 
the midst of many spots of interest, are several well-known 
summer hotels. 

At Stroudsburg the new Delaware Valley Railroad 
branches off to Bushkill, thirteen miles, and is to be con- 
tinued thirty-two miles more. 

Stroudsburg is the southern terminus of the famous 
Milford Road, one of the most noted carriage roads in the 
country, known to thousands of wheelmen, famous alike 
for its excellent condition and its beautiful scenery. It 
leads to Marsha IPs Falls, Bushkill, Dingman's Ferry and 
.Milford. 

41 



Stroudsburg is called after one of its first settlers, Col- 
onel Jacob Stroud. It was created a borough in 1815. 
The town and township were originally mainly peopled by 
Quakers, and an ancient historian adds. " The inhabitants 
are enterprising, frank, temperate, moral, always ready to 
extend the hand of friendship to Grangers and visitor-." 
Colonel Jacob Stroud was a Revolutionary officer, who 
owned 4,000 acres of land, and who commanded Fort Penn. 
situated here. 

Stroudsburg is famous as having been the first haven of 
refuge for those unfortunate men. women and children 
who fled over the mountains from the Wyoming massacre 
during- the Revolution. 

Beyond SPRAGrEYILLE (Phila. 118 miles) the rail- 
road soon begins to climb the mountains. Often, if the 
train is long and heavy, it is drawn by two locomotives. 
For a portion of the way we climb up through the valley of 
the Analomink. hut presently the stream divides and we 
take the valley formed by the left branch. The scenery 
now grows wilder, the grade is steeper, and the air is no- 
ticeably cooler and lighter. After climbing up. up, up and 
winding around the mountains, we reach 

HEXPYYILLE (Phila. 122 miles). This is a well- 
known summer resort, with some excellent boarding houses 
near by. In many cases the summer hotels and boarding 
houses throughout this region are the outgrowth of farm- 
houses, where years ago a few boarders were taken for the 
summer. Year by year, as pleased guests returned and new- 
ones came, the old houses would be enlarged until they 
grew out of all resemblance to the original home. A- the 
farm houses were always situated near a good spring or a 
stream of running water, the modern boarding houses have 
still this great advantage, but in many 
cases their locations deprive them of 
distant views. The houses which have 

43 





LofC. 



been built in recent years have regarded an extensive view- 
as a requisite. Henryville is in the center of some of the 
best brook trout streams in Pennsylvania. There are 
many points of interest in the vicinity, with good roads. 

The grade beyond Henryville is increasingly steep, as 
following round and round the mountain sidi's, we leave 
the little stream which has made a passage way utilized by 
man for the roadway. Soon, at one point, we have, look- 
ing away to the southwest, a view of the distant Water 
Gap, with intervening miles and miles of woods and moun- 
tain tops, square fields and hillside orchards. Looking 
west, Pocono Knob pokes its nose boldly out. looking as 
if it had been shaved oft' by some gigantic knife. In five 
miles the next station is reached, but just before the 
train begins to slow down there is a glimpse of the Inn at 
Buck Hill Falls, two and a half miles away to the right. 
perched on a spur of the Poconos. 

At CPvESCO (Phila. 127 miles) we have attained an ele- 
vation of about 1,600 feet. This is the railroad station for 
Paradise Valley and Falls, 
lying south of the station, 
(to the left), and for Buck 
Hill Falls and Canadensis to 
the north or right of the 
train. A stage line runs from 
Cresco to Laanna. Panther 
and South Sterling. Here the 
almost unbroken woods be- 
gin, stretching up into Pike 
County, in the midst of 
which the State Forestry 
Commission have established 
what will no doubt ultimately 
be a large and important for- 
est preserve. 

45 




BUCK HILL FALLS. 



Ilnv. too. the streams are the delight of fishermen, par- 
ticularly in the Less-thickly-settled regions north of the 
station. There are many beautiful falls in this vicinity, of 

which the famous Falls of the Buck Hill arc best known. 
Near by are the Leves Branch Palls, Spruce Cabin Falls 
and Paradise Falls. 

The railroad here has made a great bend to cling to flic 
mountain side, so that it may attain the summit, hut it 
now turns away almost southwardly around Cresco Moun- 
tain. As the train mounts higher, the view increases iu 
extent: the long, level summit of the Kittatiny is in sight, 
with the Water Gap breaking it in the middle, and ex- 
tending on as far as the eye can reach into New Jersey. 

.lust before we come to Paradise Tunnel the view is at 
its best, and when we emerge at the upper end and are 
out of the cut, we look away down into the valley wine 1 
lies right at our feet, and here is the Pocono Mountain 
House, beside a little brook and in the midst of pleasant 
grounds. Further to the south is the Outwood and a mile 
down the valley is Swift water. Perched high on a hill, 
just beyond, is the Montanesca, commanding the sweep of 
valley for sixty miles. We have now reached 

MOUNT POCONO STATION (Phila. 133 miles), with 

an elevation of about 3,000 feet. The Poconos, through 
which we have been passing, cross the northeastern corner 
of Pennsylvania and become the Catskills in New York; 
with various names, they pass on down through Pennsyl- 
vania, through Maryland and Virginia, and become the 
Black Mountains of North Carolina. 

Mount Pocono is the largest mountain resort in Penn- 
sylvania, with many modern hotels, scores of smaller 
hoarding houses, and whole settlements of pleasant cot- 
tages. Throughout all this region the air is remarkably 
dry, soft and mild, blowing as it does over miles and miles 
<:! woodland. The soil is porous: the drainage good. 

47 



The region is noted for its healthfnlness, and. although 
so near the big cities that it would not he expected there 
would he much difference in temperature, yet the ther- 
mometer is an average of 10 degrees lower, while the ap- 
parent difference is even greater. Nor is the altitude so 
great as to aggravate nervous disorders. 

POCONO SUMMIT (Phil. 135 miles) is two miles be- 
yond Mt. Pocono, and here the character of the country 
changes. We are now on the flat summit of the mountain. 
The soil is sandy and the roads heavy. Pine trees bent by 
the constant wind, and struggling for life out of the sandy 
soil, abound. 

This is the station for Naomi Pines, four miles away to 
the south, where is to be established during the summer 
of 1902 the Pocono Pines Chautauqua, on the shores of a 
beautiful lake. 

A short distance beyond, in the midst of great ponds, 
famous for the clear, pure ice formed on them and shipped 
by train loads to New York and Philadelphia is 

TOBYHANNA (Phila. 140 miles). The traveler is now 
on the western summit of the mountain and the road he- 
gins to descend into the valley of the Susquehanna. As 
Tohyhanna is the terminus of many of the trains, and as 
the few remaining summer pleasure seekers who have not 
left the train at the stations just passed will alight here, 
we will close the record of a pleasant ride at this point. 




LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



014 312 634 1 



